​by Kevin Taylor.

The Maungaturoto Primary School sent out an invite to all car clubs to ask them to take part in their Annual Car & Bike Show to assist in raising funds for the school.

A small group from MCCoA met early at Smales Farm Takapuna, we had Warwick & Lesley in their JCW MINI Cooper S, Phil Kane in his yellow Mini & KevT in MINTED. Alan & Shelagh in their de Joux had left earlier as they were having starter motor issues and didn't want to stop. 

We set off for the 75min drive north to Brynderwyn where we would meet up with new club members Grant & Nadine Nicholas, along with their daughter in a Mini LE who drove down from Whangarei. We were also meet there by Chris Westlake from Matakohe in his Mini Ute & his friend John in his Clubman GT who had driven up from Te Awamutu earlier. 

From there we convoyed the short distance to Maungaturoto and were directed onto the playing fields of the local primary school. A number of cars were already there and the bouncy castles etc were being set up. The Minis decided to form up together along the edge of the field where we were joined by Dave Cotty who had arrived from Mangawhai in his Cooper, and several more of Chris's Minis that had been driven in by friends.

That were a total of 10 Minis which were well received by the organisers and enjoyed by the locals and other car enthusiasts who had gathered for the event. There was a large variety of cars from hot rods to late model muscle cars, a beautiful replica Austin Healy 3000 with a straight 6 BMW motor, to a very original Model A Coupe with pickup extension stuck on the rear that looked like it had been there all its life, not a polished beauty but a well used and loved working car/pickup. It looked like it might have been the original owner standing alongside.

An interesting sight was a collection of EV's (Electric Vehicles) mainly Teslas & Nissan Leafs (Leaves if there is more than 1?) The Teslas looked impressive up close and had been programmed to put on an entertaining "Dance routine" waving their multijointed automatic Gull wing rear doors in time to the music. I'm not sure how well the white leather upholstery handled the large number of kids and others climbing in and out all day.

There was also a Motorbike show on the paved areas in front of the classrooms as well as the usual food and craft type stalls that you would expect at a School fair.

When the show was over Chris had invited us to drive to his place at Matakohe for refreshments - he has a small 10 acre block on the side of the estuary and had put on a feast of food and drink for us with the help of his family and friends.  We had an enjoyable time relaxing there, I don't think that we made much of an impression on the food that had been laid out for us. Chris wanted us to look at his paddocks with a view to using them for a Mini motorkhana type event sometime in the future.

Time to head for home and enjoy the run down the highway until we got to Warkworth where the usual Sunday traffic congestion was well underway- not to worry, we had had a great day out, met some new members, and got a little sunburnt as well.

Thanks to all the members who took part and to Chris and his helpers for their hospitality.

By Deryck Freeland

Deryck and Warwick attended the last Meguiars' "public" training night held at Smits Auto Refinish Training Centre, East Tamaki.

Demonstration of the 3 step preparation and protection plan using Meguiars' Products by the technical staff member (Miles) followed by a BBQ and refreshments with an opportunity to buy product at a discount later.

by Kevin Taylor

There was a good turnout at the Mini Nationals in Hamilton over Labour weekend - somewhere around 95 entries apparently - I counted about 32 MCCoA members there with 20 Minis on display and taking part in a variety of events.
The Classics Museum was a perfect location for the event with a large sealed car park for the Show & Shine and the Jukebox Diner served great food & coffee all day and then was the venue for the Saturday night dinner. The Museum itself was open for viewing and we all received free entry to have a look at the displays. An added bonus was an area for self contained Campervans & caravans to stay overnight on site and Grant & Brian and Simon & Marion took advantage of this.

Saturday morning everyone was there early to get their Minis ready for the Show & Shine judges inspection. What a task they had to decide which were the best presented Minis in the various classes. Mike and Jan Bates were awarded 1st Prize with their Clubman Estate in the Concours Class & Richard Underwood was awarded 2nd Prize in the Custom Class - both well deserved. Grant & Brian just missed the trophies placing 4th overall in the Modified class which was the largest class with 33 entries this year. The stock class had 21 entries and there was a bigger turn out of New MINIs this year with 16 entered. Other classes for Variants (Elf's, de Joux etc) were also well supported.

Saturday afternoon's event  was the Mini Monte  Regularity Rally - this year the trial/rally didn't have a set of questions to be answered or objects to be found (so much for the collection of feathers, rabbits feet, fish hooks, postcards, postage stamps, bus passes, carless day stickers  etc I took with me "just in case"). We were told to navigate the course aided by a Route Book with Tulip Diagram directions just like the real Monte Carlo Rally. The instructions were to stay within the speed limits and aim for an average speed of 72km/hr and above all enjoy some fabulous Mini roads. And so we set out at 2 minute intervals and headed for the hills - Stage 1 the Ohautira Loop past Waingaro towards Raglan and back to the Museum and Stage 2 the Karamu Loop out through Whatawhata and back. Who knows how to calculate an average speed? so we just stuck to the speed limit, enjoyed the scenery and had fun. Don't worry about Minis going the other way or not turning where you think you should be, they are probably lost - maybe? For some reason it seems that the Ladies were to best equipped to work out how to stick to an average speed as they took 1st & 2nd place in the event. I had a guest Australian Navigator (Adrian from Toowoomba) with me and between us we didn't have a clue so tried to bank a few minutes just in case we got held up later in the rally. Not sure that it worked for us - I was told some of the young guns found an APP to work out the average speed but I didn't have one of those in the bag with the feathers etc.

On Sunday the Speed events were held nearby in Frankton on a section of closed road used in the past by the V8 Supercars. There was covered parking along side in an industrial truck depot which proved very handy when the odd shower swept across the area. Lee Norman gathered up all the trophies in his Minibitz Mini placing 1st in both the Motorkhana & Autocross events. In the final run in the Autocross Lee in his Classic Mini Cooper & Jai from MMR in his New MINI Cooper S recorded identical times but on count back Lee won with a faster 1st run.  Aidan Robson placed 3rd in the Motorkhana & 4th in the Autocross in his Black Sportpac Cooper at his first Nationals, great driving Aidan. Other members also did well and enjoyed the smooth sealed surface.

While the speed events were taking place the alternative event was an organised Scenic Tour of the Waikato starting with morning tea at the local MINI Garage, I'm told that was enjoyable apart from the encounter with the herds of cows on the road, or perhaps what the cows left on the road.

At the Presidents meeting club delegates discussed issues raised about future Nationals and confirmed the locations for the next couple of years :
2018 : Wellington hosted by MOWOG
2019 : Tauranga hosted by Tauranga Mini Owners Club
2020 : Christchurch hosted by Canterbury Mini Owners Club
2021 : Hawkes Bay hosted by Mini Car Club Hawkes Bay

Everyone dressed up for the Prize Giving on Sunday Night at the Distinction Hotel - an excellent meal was followed by a very entertaining Charity Auction - Mini related items were sold including caps signed by Paddy Hopkirk and over $2000 was raised for a local children's Charity.

Trophies were awarded to all the winners of the various events.  Members were suitably surprised at their success in the Mini Monte Rally Competition where points were awarded for competing in all events in the same Mini - Show & Shine, Regularity Trial, Motorkhana & Autocross.  Richard Underwood was awarded 2nd Place, KevT in 3rd Place, & Chris Atkinson in 4th Place.

The evening concluded with stories and tall tales told - and all agreed that Minis Waikato had put on a Great Nationals Event.
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So now's the time to start making plans to head to Wellington next year, Jeseka from MOWOG told us that they are looking forward to seeing us there.

I figure that it would be rude not to.

by Grant Bowyer

The first big event of Mini Nationals was the Show and Shine, bright and early on Saturday morning. There was a bit of grumbling about the early start, but with around 90 cars entered the judges needed all the time they could get. 

The weather co-operated despite the grey skies, with only a light sprinkling of rain at about 9am. It was distinctly chilly for us Aucklanders though, and the Motor Museum Cafe did a roaring trade in hot drinks. Quite a few people took advantage of the complimentary entry to the museum, partly to see the exhibits, partly to thaw out a bit.  

The Modified class was the most hotly contested with 33 entries, the stock class had 21 cars, and 16 in the new MINI class. 

It was great to see so many well-presented Minis in one place. Judging took about 4 hours, but there was no lack of interesting cars to look at. There was everything from completely customised Minis, Austin and MG Metros (I'm sure the owners got sick of hearing "That engine would fit in my car"), Mokes, and rally cars, to carefully maintained daily drivers. 

First prize overall went to Mike and Jan Bates with their perfectly restored blue Clubman in the Concours class, and Richard Underwood took 2nd place in the Custom class. By all accounts judging was incredibly close, with only a few points separating the top 10 places in each category. 

Minis at Hampton Downs, September 3rd, by Chris McMurray.

Sunday 3rd September saw the MG Car Club running a track day on the Club circuit at Hampton Downs, to which a few Minis had also entered. Scrutineering was the previous day in New Lynn, at the premises of an MG specialist. The themes were single car sprints, dual car sprints, both with overtaking and with no overtaking, and driver training.

Our drivers were:- Kevin Taylor    (1275), Lee Norman (1380), Sarron Bennett (1275), Gary Ashton (Cooper 998), Jim Banks (1310), and Craig Luxmoore (Nissan 1600 shoe-horned into a Clubman).

The MG Club had attracted a few other “outsiders” from the Jaguar Drivers’ Club (X-Types, S-Types, a beautiful replica 1958 D-type, plus a newly restored 1964 Mark 2), and the Austin Healey Club, (a Sprite and a 2.8 litre BJ8).

As you’d expect, the MG entries were all fast: MGB’s (some with the V8 conversion, including the yellow Targa one) and modified Midgets, but also a MGC and a 1946 MGTC (not quite so fast). This was going to be a serious speed day. 

The track is pretty new, and from the front straight goes:- 3R opens, into 4L, into 4R opens, into 6R opens (double apex here), into back straight, into 6R tightens over crest, into front straight. Starters were timed, so that drivers of similar speed could be paired as best possible.

Here was a chance to have a real blast, and test one’s skills. Everyone benefited from this, most of all by learning the limits of one’s car, and the consequences of over-driving.  Many drivers got caught out exiting the front straight hairpin, demonstrated by all the cars which finished up backwards there. The curve entering the front straight also proved trickier than it seemed, with an X-type losing control in spectacular fashion, almost finishing up in the pond.

The Minis acquitted themselves honourably, not without spins, but hitting neither walls nor other cars. The drivers gained some valuable practice in the process. There were a couple of mechanical issues in the paddock, which were solved and saw the drivers back out on the track. But this does highlight the value of preparation for speed events, where the engine and the car are under severe stress.

Times were taken over the 3 laps of a sprint, and varied around the 2min 30 area.

Driver training was offered with Racing Ray Williams as instructor. He is just the nicest guy in New Zealand, but, make no mistake, is an extremely experienced Porsche Cup and Targa New Zealand competitor. He also holds several speed records, so if you want to go faster, see Ray.

Given that the hosting club must make a dollar to continue this event, and given that the event is just south of Auckland, more Mini Club members might like to try this track day for some big time fun. 

Very many thanks to Paul and Andrew Walbran, and the other members of the MG Club, who worked hard to make this a marvellous, exciting track day.

​By Kevin Taylor 
Sunday 3rd September 2017

​The MG Car Club invited some British Marque car clubs to take part in a Track day at Hampton Downs on Fathers Day.

MGCC had hired the Club Circuit at Hampton Downs and to assist with track hire costs they invited the Jaguar, Austin Healy and Mini Car Clubs to join them for the day.

It was a cold damp day when we arrived at Hampton Downs and we made our way to the new Club Circuit, which is part of the new extension to the main Hampton Downs track. There was a large pit area for the 50 odd cars that turned up for the day and that number included 6 members of the Mini Club.

The format for the day was designed to encourage car club members to get their cars out on the track. You could take part in either parade laps, which was basically follow the leader laps following a pace car, or driver training laps where an experienced race driver (Racing Ray Williams amongst others) would be passenger in your car and explain the lines and braking points to be used on the circuit. 

There were also sessions where you could go as fast as you like with no overtaking permitted, or as fast as you like with overtaking- but as the cars were set off at 10 second intervals with fastest car leaving first, very little overtaking happened.

The last category was for Dual sprints where 2 cars started side by side in the pit exit and raced for 4 laps. This was for experienced drivers and required a MSNZ Clubsport licence - Lee was the only Mini to enter this.

There were timed practice runs and these times were used to arrange the start order for your runs.

After drivers briefing the runs were started and each category was sent out in groups of 5 or 6 cars to do 4 laps and then return to the pits. This went on all day and if you had entered several categories (like Lee did) you got to do a good number of laps and work out the fastest way around the circuit.

It was good to see the variety of cars on the track ranging from a beautiful D Type Jag replica to several very fast MGBGT V8s. A former Mini club member and Mini Cooper racer Russell Ness was there in his Mk2 Jag and it was good to see him on the track being chased by Lee in the Mini. I think Russell would have been much faster in his Cooper S.

The day didn't start out too well for Sarron Bennett as his battery failed when he arrived and he had to set off to Huntly to get a new one fitted. I had brake problems in MINTED but was able to fix that with Lee's help and get back on track, and Craig Luxmore was going really quick but was back on the trailer early with a trail of oil dripping from his Nissan engined Clubman.

Lee, Gary Ashton & Jim Banks just kept going all day.

Although this wasn't a race meeting times were recorded, I can't vouch for the accuracy of the official timing but I noted the following down from the MG website :

Lee Norman - Minibitz 1275 - 2m 21.7s (4 laps from standing start)
Craig Luxmore -  Clubman racecar Nissan 1600 - 2m 22s
KevT - MINTED 1100 - 2m 26.5s
Gary Ashton - Mini Cooper 998 - 2m 27.1s
Jim Banks - Clubman GT 1430 8 port - 2m 36s
Sarron Bennett - Mini Cooper 1275 - 2m 43.9s

A great day was had by all and I'm told that MGCC have booked the track for next year on the weekend after Fathers Day.

By Kevin Taylor

What a nice Father’s Day celebration!  10 beautifully presented Minis lined up at Motions Road for the 8.30 a.m. Parade of Cars into MOTAT.

This year we had pride of place at the entrance and plenty of room.
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A fine array of cars with Sportspacs well represented and several perfect Concourse cars.

We shared the show with American Muscle, Jaguars, Mustangs, Ferraris, Austins and a very popular Tesla presence.

A very well attended day with very good interest in the Minis.  The rain held off and we all rugged up in the cold southerly.

Richard Atkins
92 Mini